Adjacent Adsorption Sites Research Articles

Elucidating the failure of the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory for CO2/H2O mixture adsorption in CALF-20

The use of CALF-20 for CO2 capture from humid flue gases has attracted a vast amount of attention from both academia and industry. The focus of this article is on CO2/H2O mixture adsorption for which published experimental data demonstrate the severe limitations of the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST) in providing a quantitative estimation of the component loadings. We use Configurational-Bias Monte Carlo (CBMC) simulations for elucidating the origins of thermodynamic non-idealities. The CBMC simulations reveal that two distinct regimes prevail during mixture adsorption. For low relative humidities less than say 20 %, the CO2 loadings in the adsorbed phase is significantly higher than anticipated by the IAST. CBMC simulations of intermolecular distances for guest pairs reveal that failure of the IAST can be traced to the phenomenon of segregated adsorption. The H2O-H2O pairs are close together at typical distances of about 3 Å. The CO2-H2O pairs are typically 8 Å apart, occupying adjacent adsorption sites corresponding to the O atoms of the oxalate group. This implies that the CO2 molecules face a less severe competitive adsorption with H2O than is anticipated by the IAST, whose applicability mandates a uniform and homogeneous distribution of adsorbates in pore space. The situation changes dramatically at high values of relative humidities, typically larger than about 50 %; in this scenario, the adsorbed phase is significantly richer in H2O. The CO2 molecules are compelled to share same adsorption site with pairs of H2O molecules that are hydrogen-bonded with each other. Consequently, the competition faced by CO2 is significantly higher than anticipated by the IAST, resulting in significantly lower CO2 uptakes.The important message that emerges from this investigation is the need to incorporate the Real Adsorbed Solution Theory (RAST) for quantitative modelling of fixed-bed adsorbers in CO2 capture with CALF-20.

Leveraging Dual‐Atom Catalysts for Electrocatalysis Revitalization: Exploring the Structure‐Performance Correlation

AbstractIn light of the profound shift toward renewable fuels, dual‐atom catalysts (DACs) are impressively prospected as auspicious catalysts for electrocatalysis revitalization, toward accomplishing environmental remediation and sustainable global energy security. Leveraging appealing attributes such as inspiring synergistic effect, additional adjacent adsorption sites, and ultrahigh atom utilization, DACs are endowed with unprecedented stability, activity, and selectivity in multifarious energy‐related applications. By virtue of addressing time and technological prominence to review this ground‐breaking atomic electrocatalyst, this review first encompasses a correlation elucidation between the substrate, dual‐atoms, and facile synthetic approaches with intriguing modification strategies. Furthermore, the state‐of‐the‐art characterization techniques specially employed for DACs are spotlighted, alongside rigorously unveiling the novel mechanistic insights’ milestone gained from both theoretical modeling and experimental research in multitudes of environmentally benign electrocatalytic applications, including O2 reduction, CO2 reduction, H2 evolution, O2 evolution, N2 reduction, and other fundamental reactions. As a final note, this review presents a brief conclusion highlighting current challenges and outlining prospects for this frontier. Importantly, this review deciphers the structure‐performance correlation while excavating the advancement gained in DACs, thus is anticipated to shed light for the catalysis community on bolstering an intense evolution of DACs while triggering sapient inspiration for more robust next‐generation catalysts.

Theoretical Mapping of Interaction between Alkali Metal Atoms Adsorbed on Graphene‐Like BC3 Monolayer

First‐principles calculations using density functional theory and two methods in comparison, Quantum ESPRESSO and Siesta, are done on large supercells which describe different placements of two identical adsorbed alkali metal atoms (of either Na or K species) on the monolayer of boron carbide BC3. The energy of single‐atom adsorption over the center of C6 ring, the center of C4B2 hexagon, and over a boron atom are preliminarily estimated, the effect of applying the Grimme D2 correction on the adsorption characteristics is evaluated, and the comparison of these results with available data is discussed. The interaction of two identical Na or K atoms adsorbed at close enough distances (less than ≃10 Å) is negligible if the adsorption occurs at the opposite sides of the BC3 layer, but creates a steep repulsive potential at distances less than ≃8 Å if both atoms are adsorbed on the same side of the monolayer. Relaxation patterns resulting from the two K atoms being trapped at adjacent adsorption sites in the lattice are explained. The results suggest that the density of adsorbed K atoms on BC3 can be interestingly high.

The activity enhancement of photocatalytic water splitting by F- pre-occupation on Pt(100) and Pt(111) co-catalyst facets

The reversible hydrogen and oxygen recombination reaction in semiconductor dispersion highly impede the yield increase of photocatalytic water splitting to hydrogen and oxygen. In order to inhibit such reverse reaction, it is necessary to reduce the degree of hydrogen and oxygen adsorption and activiation over co-catalyst on semiconductor. It is known that partial occupation of Pt sites by halogen ions with high electronegativity can decrease the adsorption and activation degree of hydrogen and oxygen molecules over Pt/TiO2, by this way, hydrogen and oxygen recombination reaction can be significantly inhibited, and the overall water splitting activity can be remarkably enhanced. Nevertheless, the detail inhibition mechanism on the reverse recombination reaction by halogen ions occupation on different Pt sites is still unclear. In the present work, by comparing the fluorine ions occupation on different Pt facets, we found that the fluorine ions occupation could decrease the numbers of adsorption sites on Pt(100) and Pt(111) surface. On Pt(100) facet, a fluorine ion occupation affect the four adjacent adsorption sites for H2 and O2 molecules adsorption, while, on Pt(111) surface, a fluorine ion occupation could affect the six adjacent adsorption sites for H2 and O2 molecules adsorption. The difference of fluorine ions occupation on the Pt(100) and Pt(111) facets led to the different adsorption strength of hydrogen and oxygen molecules, which further induced the activiation difference of hydrogen and oxygen on Pt co-catalyst. The results of density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicated that the hydrogen and oxygen adsorption energies on F/Pt(100) were higher than that on F/Pt(111) surface. The H2/O2-TPD, cyclic voltammetry and in-situ XPS experimental results also verified that the hydrogen and oxygen adsorption on F/Pt(100) surface was stronger than that of F/Pt(111) surface. The hydrogen and oxygen recombination experimental results showed that the hydrogen and oxygen recombination rates over F/Pt(100) surface was higher than that of F/Pt(111) surface. Upon light irradiation, the F/Pt(100)/TiO2 photocatalyst exhibited lower activity for overall water splitting than F/Pt(111)/TiO2 photocatalyst. Results in this paper provide a new avenue to promote seimiconductor catalyst for over-all water splitting by tuning the adsorption sites of hydrogen and oxygen on co-catalyst surface.

CO Guest Interactions in SDB-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks: A Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigation.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for greener carbon monoxide (CO) capture and separation processes. SDB-based (SDB = 4,4'-sulfonyldibenzoate) MOFs are particularly attractive due to their remarkable gas adsorption capacity under humid conditions. However, to the best of our knowledge, their CO adsorption abilities have yet to be investigated. In this report, CO-loaded PbSDB and CdSDB were characterized using variable-temperature (VT) 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy. These MOFs readily captured CO, with the adsorbed CO exhibiting dynamics as indicated by the temperature-dependent changes in the SSNMR spectra. Spectral simulations revealed that the CO simultaneously undergoes a localized wobbling about the adsorption site and a nonlocalized hopping between adjacent adsorption sites. The wobbling and hopping angles were also found to be temperature-dependent. From the appearance of the VT spectra and the extracted motional data, the CO adsorption mechanism was concluded to be analogous to that of CO2. To gain a better understanding on the gas adsorption properties of these MOFs and their CO capture abilities, we subsequently compared the motional data to those reported for CO2 in SDB-based MOFs and CO in MOF-74, respectively. A significant contrast in adsorption strength was observed in both cases because of the different physical properties of the guests (i.e., CO vs CO2) and the MOF frameworks (i.e., SDB-based MOFs vs MOFs with open metal sites). Our results demonstrate that SSNMR spectroscopy can be employed to probe variations in binding behavior.

Influence of surface hydroxylation on the Ru atom diffusion on the ZrO2(101) surface: A DFT study

The adsorption and diffusion of ruthenium adatoms on the (101) surface of tetragonal zirconia was studied by means of periodic Density Functional Theory (PBE+U) calculations. The surface termination has a decisive role in determining the diffusion capability of the adsorbed Ru atoms. On the defect-free and fully dehydroxylated surface, Ru adatoms have several stable adsorption sites with adsorption energies as large as 2.5–2.9eV However, the kinetic diffusion barriers between adjacent adsorption sites are around 0.5–0.6eV, indicating a rather fast diffusion process. Surface oxygen vacancies, if present, strongly bind ruthenium adatoms and act as nucleation sites. On hydroxylated surfaces, the adsorption energy of Ru atoms is comparable to the dehydroxylated case, but the kinetic barriers for diffusion are remarkably higher, thus indicating that adsorbed species are less mobile in presence of surface OH groups. The effect is more pronounced for high concentrations of OH groups, since this results in hydrogen bonded hydroxyl units that further limit the diffusion process. These results indicate a possible way to increase the life-time of RuZrO2 heterogeneous catalysts by tuning the level of surface hydroxylation, in order to slow down sintering of metal particles via Ostwald ripening process.

Coupling of swelling, internal stress evolution, and diffusion in coal matrix material during exposure to methane

AbstractWe construct theoretical models for time‐dependent swelling of coal matrix material upon adsorption of a single gas, taking into account a coupling between stress, strain, chemical potential, and diffusion. Two models are developed. The first (model A) corresponds to diffusion and hence swelling rates being controlled by the jump frequency of adsorbed molecules between closely spaced adsorption sites and the second (model B) to transport controlled by diffusion of unadsorbed molecules through diffusion paths linking distant adsorption sites. To test these models, we performed axial swelling experiments on a single 4 mm sized cylindrical sample of medium volatile bituminous coal, exposed to CH4 at pressures up to 40 MPa, at 40°C, using 1‐D, high‐pressure dilatometry. The models were calibrated to the experimental data by adjustment of a single‐valued diffusion coefficient, independent of gas pressure and adsorbed concentration. The results show that the data can be accurately explained only by model B. The implication is that the gas transport, the associated adsorption, and hence time‐dependent swelling are controlled by the diffusion of unadsorbed molecules and not by molecules jumping between the adjacent adsorption sites. Our model describes a full coupling between stress, strain, sorption, and diffusion in coal matrix material in terms of parameters that have clear physical meaning and are easily obtained from sorption and swelling experiments on coal of any rank exposed to any gas. It therefore offers an important tool for modeling permeability evolution with time during (enhanced) coalbed methane operations.

Electrical conductivity of a monolayer produced by random sequential adsorption of linear k-mers onto a square lattice.

The electrical conductivity of a monolayer produced by the random sequential adsorption (RSA) of linear k-mers (particles occupying k adjacent adsorption sites) onto a square lattice was studied by means of computer simulation. Overlapping with predeposited k-mers and detachment from the surface were forbidden. The RSA process continued until the saturation jamming limit, p_{j}. The isotropic (equiprobable orientations of k-mers along x and y axes) and anisotropic (all k-mers aligned along the y axis) depositions for two different models-of an insulating substrate and conducting k-mers (C model) and of a conducting substrate and insulating k-mers (I model)-were examined. The Frank-Lobb algorithm was applied to calculate the electrical conductivity in both the x and y directions for different lengths (k=1 - 128) and concentrations (p=0 - p_{j}) of the k-mers. The "intrinsic electrical conductivity" and concentration dependence of the relative electrical conductivity Σ(p) (Σ=σ/σ_{m} for the C model and Σ=σ_{m}/σ for the I model, where σ_{m} is the electrical conductivity of substrate) in different directions were analyzed. At large values of k the Σ(p) curves became very similar and they almost coincided at k=128. Moreover, for both models the greater the length of the k-mers the smoother the functions Σ_{xy}(p),Σ_{x}(p) and Σ_{y}(p). For the more practically important C model, the other interesting findings are (i)for large values of k (k=64,128), the values of Σ_{xy} and Σ_{y} increase rapidly with the initial increase of p from 0 to 0.1; (ii) for k≥16, all the Σ_{xy}(p) and Σ_{x}(p) curves intersect with each other at the same isoconductivity points; (iii) for anisotropic deposition, the percolation concentrations are the same in the x and y directions, whereas, at the percolation point the greater the length of the k-mers the larger the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity, i.e., the ratio σ_{y}/σ_{x} (>1).

Percolation of heteronuclear dimers irreversibly deposited on square lattices

The percolation problem of irreversibly deposited heteronuclear dimers on square lattices is studied. A dimer is composed of two segments, and it occupies two adjacent adsorption sites. Each segment can be either a conductive segment (segment type A) or a nonconductive segment (segment type B). Three types of dimers are considered: AA, BB, and AB. The connectivity analysis is carried out by accounting only for the conductive segments (segments type A). The model offers a simplified representation of the problem of percolation of defective (nonideal) particles, where the presence of defects in the system is simulated by introducing a mixture of conductive and nonconductive segments. Different cases were investigated, according to the sequence of deposition of the particles, the types of dimers involved in the process, and the degree of alignment of the deposited objects. By means of numerical simulations and finite-size scaling analysis, the complete phase diagram separating a percolating from a nonpercolating region was determined for each case. Finally, the consistency of our results was examined by comparing with previous data in the literature for linear k-mers (particles occupying k adjacent sites) with defects.

Energetics and kinetics of Cu atoms and clusters on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface: first-principles calculations.

Exploring the properties of noble metal atoms and nano- or subnano-clusters on the semiconductor surface is of great importance in many surface catalytic reactions, self-assembly processes, crystal growth, and thin film epitaxy. Here, the energetics and kinetic properties of a single Cu atom and previously reported Cu magic clusters on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface are re-examined by the state-of-the-art first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. First of all, the diffusion path and high diffusion rate of a Cu atom on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface are identified by mapping out the total potential energy surface of the Cu atom as a function of its positions on the surface, supporting previous experimental hypothesis that the apparent triangular light spots observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are resulted from a single Cu atom frequently hopping among adjacent adsorption sites. Furthermore, our findings confirm that in the low coverage of 0.15 monolayer (ML) the previously proposed hexagonal ring-like Cu6 cluster configuration assigned to the STM pattern is considerably unstable. Importantly, the most stable Cu6/Si(111) complex also possesses a distinct simulated STM pattern with the experimentally observed ones. Instead, an energetically preferred solid-centered Cu7 structure exhibits a reasonable agreement between the simulated STM patterns and the experimental images. Therefore, the present findings convincingly rule out the tentative six-atom model and provide new insights into the understanding of the well-defined Cu nanocluster arrays on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface.

Adsorption Properties of Triethylene Glycol on a Hydrated {101̅4} Calcite Surface and Its Effect on Adsorbed Water.

Molecular dynamics (MD) and Born-Oppenheimer MD (BOMD) simulations were employed to investigate adsorption of aqueous triethylene glycol (TEG) on a hydrated {101̅4} calcite surface at 298 K. We analyzed the orientation of TEG adsorbed on calcite, as well as the impact of TEG on the water density and adsorption free energy. The adsorption energies of TEG, free energy profiles for TEG, details of hydrogen bonding between water and adsorbed TEG, and dihedral angle distribution of adsorbed TEG were estimated. We found that while the first layer of water was mostly unaffected by the presence of adsorbed TEG, the density of the second water layer was decreased by 71% at 75% surface coverage of TEG. TEG primarily attached to the calcite surface via two adjacent adsorption sites. Hydrogen bonds between water and adsorbed TEG in the second layer almost exclusively involved the hydroxyl oxygen of TEG. The adsorption energy of TEG on calcite in a vacuum environment calculated by classical MD amounted to 217 kJ/mol, which agreed very well with estimates found by using BOMD. Adsorption on hydrated calcite yielded a drastically lower value of 33 kJ/mol, with the corresponding adsorption free energy of 55.3 kJ/mol, giving an entropy increase of 22.3 kJ/mol due to adsorption. We found that the presence of TEG resulted in a decreased magnitude of the adsorption free energy of water, thus decreasing the calcite wettability. This effect can have a profound effect on oil and gas reservoir properties and must be carefully considered when evaluating the risk of hydrate nucleation.

Interactive Surface Chemistry of CO2 and NO2 on Metal Oxide Surfaces: Competition for Catalytic Adsorption Sites and Reactivity

Interactive surface chemistry of CO2 and NO2 on BaOx/Pt(111) model catalyst surfaces were investigated via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) techniques with a particular emphasis on the competition between different adsorbates for the catalytic adsorption sites and adsorbate-induced morphological changes. After NO2 adsorption, nitrated BaOx/Pt(111) surfaces do not reveal available adsorption sites for CO2 at 323 K, irrespective of the presence/absence of exposed Pt sites on the surface. Although NO2 adsorption on thick BaOx(>10MLE)/Pt(111) overlayers at 323 K leads to the formation of predominantly nitrate species, NO2 adsorption on the corresponding carbonated surface leads to the formation of coexisting nitrates and nitrites. The presence of carbonates on BaOx/Pt(111) overlayers does not prevent NO2 uptake. Carbonated BaOx(1.5 MLE)/Pt(111) surfaces (with exposed Pt sites) obtained via CO2 adsorption can also further interact with NO2, forming surface nitrate/nitrite species, accompanied by the transformation of surface carbonates into bulk carbonate species. These results suggest that the nitrate formation process requires the presence of two adjacent unoccupied adsorption sites. It is apparent that in the presence of both NO2 and CO2, carbonate species formed on Lewis base (O2–) sites enable the formation of nitrites on Lewis acid (Ba2+) sites. Thermal aging, nitration, and carbonation have a direct impact on the morphology of the two-/three-dimensional (2D/3D) BaOx aggregates on Pt(111). While thermal aging in vacuum leads to the sintering of the BaOx domains, nitration and carbonation results in redispersion and spreading of the BaOx domains on the Pt(111) substrate.

Dynamics of Decanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayers on Au(111) Studied by Time-Resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

We investigated the dynamics of decanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au(111) surfaces using time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy at room temperature. The expected ordered phases (β, δ, χ*, and φ) and a disordered phase (ε) were observed. Current-time traces with the feedback loop disabled were recorded at different locations on the surface. The sulfur end group of the decanethiolate molecule exhibits a stochastic two-level switching process when the molecule is adsorbed in a (local) β phase registry. This two-level process is attributed to the diffusion of the Au-thiolate complex between two adjacent adsorption sites. The irregular current jumps in the current-time traces recorded on the tails of decanethiolate molecules in the ordered β, δ, and χ* phases are ascribed to wagging of the alkyl tails. Finally, the disordered phase is characterized by even larger current jumps, which indicates that the tail of the decanethiolate flips up occasionally and makes contact with the tip. Our experiments reveal that the massive dynamics of the self-assembled monolayer is due to diffusion of decanethiol-Au complexes, rather than the diffusion of decanethiolate molecules.

Single molecule diffusion on hard, soft and fluid surfaces

Molecular diffusion on a surface is often considered as a thermal energy-activated process of molecular hopping between adjacent adsorption sites on a surface and simply determined by molecule–surface interaction. In this work, we report distinct diffusive dynamics of probe molecules on methyl-terminated self-assembled monolayer (SAM), polymer brush layer and lipid bilayer by using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) at a single-molecule level. We have observed that despite weaker molecule–surface interaction, the surface diffusion of probe molecules on soft polymer brush surface and fluid lipid bilayer can be much slower than that on hard SAM surface, suggesting a strong impact of interfacial dynamics of the underlying coating on molecular surface diffusion. To further examine the coupling of thermal activated molecular hopping and soft surface dynamics, we have investigated the diffusion of probe molecules on polymer brushes of varied grafting density and thickness, where the molecule–surface interaction remains nearly the same, yet the adopted conformations and dynamics of surface-grafted PNIPAM chains vary considerably; it is striking to observe that the diffusion of probe molecules could be further retarded on PNIPAM brush surfaces of lower grafting density or higher brush thickness, thereby exhibiting the presence of an optimal brush thickness range to facilitate fast surface diffusion of adsorbed probe molecules. All the observations combined lead to a general model by taking the dynamics of underlying surface layers into account to elucidate the molecular diffusion mechanism on varied surfaces.

Random sequential adsorption of partially oriented lineark-mers on a square lattice

Jamming phenomena on a square lattice are investigated for two different models of anisotropic random sequential adsorption (RSA) of linear k-mers (particles occupying k adjacent adsorption sites along a line). The length of a k-mer varies from 2 to 256. The effect of k-mer alignment on the jamming threshold is examined. For completely ordered systems where all the k-mers are aligned along one direction (e.g., vertical), the obtained simulation data are very close to the known analytical results for one-dimensional systems. In particular, the jamming threshold tends to the Rényi's parking constant for large k. In the other extreme case, when k-mers are fully disordered, our results correspond to the published results for short k-mers. It was observed that for partially oriented systems the jamming configurations consist of the blocks of vertically and horizontally oriented k-mers (v and h blocks, respectively) and large voids between them. The relative areas of different blocks and voids depend on the order parameter s, k-mer length, and type of the model. For small k-mers (k⩽4), denser configurations are observed in disordered systems as compared to those of completely ordered systems. However, longer k-mers exhibit the opposite behavior.

Kondo peak splitting on a single adatom coupled to a magnetic cluster

The Kondo resonance induced by a single cobalt adatom interacting with a ferromagnetic iron nanocluster is measured using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The persistence of the Kondo resonance is evidenced along with the predicted splitting of the spectral density peak for a Kondo impurity surrounded by a spin-polarized electron bath. Reversible quenching of the split feature is observed using atom manipulation between adjacent adsorption sites. Using a Green's-function formalism, we model a double Fano resonance leading to a quantitative insight of our observations.

Etherification of aldehydes, alcohols and their mixtures on Pd/SiO 2 catalysts

Dialkyl ethers have been selectively produced from etherification of aldehydes and alcohols on supported Pd catalysts. A yield of 79% ether with a selectivity of 90% was observed when feeding 2-methylpentanal with 2-methylpentanol at a molar ratio 1:1 at 125 °C. Cross etherification of n-butanol with 2-methylpentanal shows a much higher rate than that observed when the alcohol or aldehyde is fed alone. This enhanced activity is in line with the catalyst requirement for large ensembles that allow surface alkoxide species next to η 2 adsorbed aldehydes. Etherification when only aldehyde or alcohol is fed arises predominantly due to aldehyde–alcohol inter-conversion to produce the necessary co-reactant. The ether yield at the same reaction conditions decreases with metal loading in the order 16 > 10 > 3 wt.% Pd. Increasing reduction temperature also increases ether yield. It is apparent that etherification is highly sensitive to metal particle morphology, consistent with needing ensembles that accommodate the two adjacent adsorption sites.

Percolation of aligned dimers on a square lattice

Percolation and jamming phenomena were investigated for anisotropic sequential deposition of dimers (particles occupying two adjacent adsorption sites) on a square lattice. The influence of dimer alignment on the electrical conductivity was examined. The percolation threshold for deposition of dimers was lower than for deposition of monomers. Nevertheless, the problem belongs to the universality class of random percolation. The lowest percolation threshold (pc = 0.562) was observed for isotropic orientation of the dimers. It was higher (pc = 0.586) in the case of dimers aligned strictly along one direction. The state of dimer orientation influenced the concentration dependence of the electrical conductivity. The proposed model seems to be useful for description of the percolating properties of anisotropic conductors.

Atomic jumps during surface diffusion

The characteristics of atomic displacements during surface diffusion of Cu on Cu(111) are studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that even at very low substrate temperatures, the majority of the jumps are correlated, i.e., the displacement directions are not randomly chosen but rather keep some sort of memory from the previous moves and are influenced by them. Long jumps, spanning several surface unit cells, are observed at all temperatures. From an analysis of their length probability distribution information can be obtained about the mechanisms of friction and energy transfer between the diffusing adatom and the substrate. Both long jumps and recrossings (displacements in which the adatom moves back and forth between two adjacent adsorption sites) appear with a higher activation energy than normal diffusion. Finally, the influence of the instantaneous atomic configuration of the substrate on the adatom's trajectory is also highlighted.

Effects of Atmospheric Trace Species on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction and the Production of Hydrogen Peroxide

The effects of the atmospheric trace species (SO2, Cl-, NH3) on the formation of H2O2 accompanying the O2 reduction reaction (ORR) have been elucidated in 0.1 M HClO4 using rotating ring-disk Pt electrode methodology. The potential at which the ORR starts shifts to the negative direction and the amount of formed H2O2 increases concomitantly as the amount of added SO2 or Cl- increases, although Cl- less affects. The extent of the H2O2 formation is correlated to the coverage of SO2 or Cl- which was estimated from the decrease in the area of a hydrogen desorption peaks. This suggests that the adsorption of SO2 or Cl- on Pt reduces the number of the adjacent adsorption sites necessary for breaking of the O-O bond and then enhances the production of. No effect on the ORR activity and the H2O2 formation was observed for NH3.